More bad news for RBS:
The British Government owns 82 percent of RBS . . .Geez
money.msn.com
(Reuters) - Citizens Financial Group Inc agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle lawsuits accusing it of charging customers excessive overdraft fees, in the second-largest settlement to date in nationwide litigation.
Citizens, a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc , joins Bank of America Corp , JPMorgan Chase & Co and several smaller lenders in settling litigation over the fees, which are typically assessed when customers overdraw their checking accounts.
"It is a very fair and reasonable settlement" that lets thousands of Citizens customers recover a "significant percentage of the likely damages from excessive overdraft fees," Peter Prieto, a lawyer for the customers, said in a phone interview.
Citizens spokesman Jim Hughes said the bank is pleased to put the matter behind it. The Providence, Rhode Island-based lender has roughly $130 billion of assets, and more than 1,500 branches in 12 U.S. states.
A $410 million overdraft settlement agreed to by Bank of America, the largest to date, won court approval in May 2011. JPMorgan reached a preliminary $110 million accord in February.
The British government owns 82 percent of RBS, after rescuing the lender during the 2008 financial crisis. |
